What is computerized medical thermography?

Computerized medical thermography is a technique that electronically photographs and measures heat produced by different parts of the body to aid the evaluation of medical conditions. It is also known as digital infrared thermal imaging.

How does it work?

The human body constantly releases heat because of the metabolic activity of its living cells. When an area of the body is functioning abnormally, its cellular metabolic activity and local blood circulation often change. This results in a different local pattern of heat release. Computerized medical thermography detects heat (infrared) energy from a body area, records it as an electronic signal, and displays the resulting pattern as a visual image. Such an image can be analyzed to reveal whether abnormal conditions are present.

Why choose computerized medical thermography?

Computerized medical thermography provides unique information for evaluating health conditions. Whereas ultrasound, X-rays, MRI and CT scans all image the structure of tissues, computerized medical thermography captures the metabolic or physiological activity of tissues in terms of heat release.

Diseases often begin with local changes in cellular metabolism and blood circulation, before other signs of abnormality are detectable. Therefore, computerized medical thermography helps detect many diseases in their earliest stages.

​Computerized medical thermography is also completely safe. Unlike CT scans, mammography and PET scans, computerized medical thermography does not use any radiation or chemicals, and is noncontact and noninvasive.

How is computerized medical thermography done?

Before a thermography session, the patient is instructed to avoid activities that can influence heat detection, such as sunbathing and physical therapy. At the start of the session, the patient is asked to remove clothing from the body area to be imaged, and to wait until the area is acclimated to the room’s temperature. A technician then takes a series of thermal images using specialized equipment, with the entire session lasting about half an hour.

The imaging equipment consists of a high-resolution infrared camera, connected to a computer running sophisticated processing software. This system detects and measures heat released from different parts of the body, and generates images known as heat maps or thermograms. Thermograms visually display temperature variations across body surfaces as colors.

Afterwards, the thermograms are analyzed by a medical thermographer, who draws conclusions about what types of abnormalities the patient has, or how the patient’s medical condition is progressing or responding to treatment. The thermographer may recommend additional tests for further evaluation.

​When to consider computerized medical thermography

​Computerized medical thermography is a powerful tool in a range of health care applications. Examples include the following:

• Breast examination: Cancer growth stimulates blood vessel formation and tissue inflammation, causing a local warming. Breast tumors can show up on infrared images as areas with higher skin temperature years before they are visible on mammograms.
• Monitoring of diabetic complications: In patients with diabetes, a change in the skin temperature of a foot can signal diabetic neuropathy or oncoming foot ulceration. Thermography can help predict these complications for more timely preventive care.
• Sports medicine: Sports injuries like tendonitis and muscle strain can be detected on thermograms even before swelling and pain appear. This allows physical therapy and training adjustments to be started early to minimize the impact on performance.
• Tracking of injury healing: Injury-related inflammation raises skin temperature, whereas muscle degeneration and poor blood flow lower it. Thermography can reveal these conditions to guide continuing therapy for injuries.
• Pain diagnosis: Pain not due to physical injury often has to do with vascular or nerve problems, which can show up as hot or cold spots on the body. Thermography can aid the diagnosis of pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, postherpetic neuralgia, complex regional pain syndrome, migraines vs. cervicogenic headaches, myofascial pain syndrome, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder and inflammatory arthritis.
• Detection of peripheral vascular disease: Thermographic imaging can help diagnose and monitor peripheral vascular disease, in which circulation is compromised by narrowed, blocked or weakened blood vessels outside the heart and brain.

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